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By Saliou SambReuters • Saturday August 2, 2014 10:34 AM

CONAKRY, Guinea — West African leaders agreed yesterday to take stronger measures to try to
bring the worst outbreak of Ebola under control and prevent it from spreading outside the region,
including steps to isolate rural communities ravaged by the disease.

The World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders said yesterday that the outbreak,
which has killed 729 people in four West African countries, was out of control and more resources
were needed to deal with it.

WHO chief Margaret Chan told the presidents of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — the countries
affected the most — that the epidemic was outpacing efforts to contain it and warned of
catastrophic consequences in lost lives and economic disruption if the situation were allowed to
deteriorate.

“The presidents recognize the serious nature of the Ebola outbreak in their countries,” Chan
said after the meeting. “They are determined to take extraordinary measures to stop Ebola in their
countries.”

After their talks, the leaders agreed to deploy security forces to isolate the frontier regions
where 70 percent of the 1,323 cases have been detected.

They banned the transportation of anyone showing signs of disease across borders, and pledged to
introduce strict controls at international airports to prevent the virus spreading outside the
region.

The leaders also agreed to step up efforts to protect local health-care workers and encourage
them to return to work.

With health-care systems struggling to cope with the highly infectious disease, which requires
rigorous precautions to stop it from spreading, more than 60 medical workers have lost their
lives.

The WHO is launching a $100 million response plan, and the United States is providing material
and technical support to the three countries. Further assistance will be discussed at a U.S.-Africa
summit in Washington next week.